NI week pass questions

NI week pass questions

I posted this on the LAVA forums, but I thought I might as well post this here as well.

I have never been to NI week, so I have to ask some potentially silly
questions. What exactly is the conference section of NI week? Is it
worth it for someone that doesn't know much about Labview? Here are
the registration choices I am looking at:

Full Conference: Includes three-day conference and exhibition admission, meals, exhibition receptions, and evening events.Expo Plus Pass: Includes access to keynotes and exhibition hall plus all meals, receptions, and evening events.Exhibition Pass: Includes access to keynotes and exhibition hall only.

The Full Conference pass is about $900 more than the Expo Plus Pass, so
I need to think wisely on if I should get access to the conference.
I'm guessing it is a lot of info sessions. I can attend all three days.
Would I need all three days if I were to get the Expo or Exhibition
pass (i.e. are there enough keynotes and exhibition booths to keep me
from being bored)? Are the receptions and evening events worth the
extra $300? Networking is great, but as far as I know at the moment, I
would be casually networking.

If it helps, my goals are to learn more about Labview from the
perspective of someone having a couple months of experience with it as
well as learn how Labview goes from prototype to production level. I
will not need to personally develop anything that goes into production,
though I will need Labview for prototyping and testing. Any advice on
choosing the right pass would be greatly welcomed!

*Just saw that there's a Sessions Only pass on the Preliminary NI week
program (includes sessions, keynotes, etc. but no conference). So now I
am further confused on what the actual conference is!

The exhibition is like a trade show floor with many companies showing their products. You might even score some swag such as pens, t-shirts, bags, or candy. Of course NI has the largest and most central exhibit, showing all the new technologies with live demos. There are several places to network with others.

The keynotes are are like magic shows and suitable even if you are not in the industry. They are the first thing in the morning in the big hall. Afterwards attendees split up for the sessions of specific interest.

The "Exhibition Pass" is probably mostly for locals that live nearby and have a peripheral interest and just come for the spectacle.

The "Expo Plus Pass" is typically for spouses. For example my wife (Which is not in the industry) attends the keynotes and comes with me to all evening events.

The real conference happens in the techical sessions upstairs. Just my opinion. There are beginner tracks and quite advanced tracks.

Study the preliminary program and look at the videos from past conferences to get a better feeling.

Re: NI week pass questions

As far as learning Labview goes, I think I will forgo the sessions this time and invest in the Core 1 and Core 2 classes instead. That being said, would only 1 day be sufficient for someone with the exhibition pass?

Re: NI week pass questions

Haha! I didn't notice that it didn't include the social events. You might be right. Thanks for your replies so far.

altenbach wrote:Just a wild guess, but "session only" might be a required offering for
Companies working on top secret contracts. They might not be allowed
To sociallize, especially at events serving alcohol.